What to do

1. Get paid promptly

“Get December and January invoices out early — and well before Christmas,” Pettit says. That gives your customers time to pay, but also there’s no excuse for them not paying on time. “You should also agree with your customers that they’ll pay before Christmas if they’re closing down for the holiday season.”

Approach customers who owe you money now about paying up. If they have cash flow problems, get them to pay at least part of the debt. Some cash is better than none.

November is a great time to send out polite reminders — then you have enough time pre-Christmas to chase up any late payments.

2. Staff rosters

It’s a good idea to think about what staff you need for the period, Pettit says. “There’s no point having a full team if your customers are on holiday.” However, you may want to keep some holiday cover to chase payments and make sure invoices go out.

If you think you’ll have summer cash flow problems, talk to your suppliers about delaying or spreading payment to them.

Payment priorities

On the other side of the ledger, look at bills you must pay and prioritise them.

Make sure you pay wages and PAYE first. You can get into trouble with Inland Revenue if you don’t pay PAYE on time. Remember, as a business, you’re responsible for paying it on behalf of your employees.

“Your provisional tax and GST may fall on 15 January, so if you think paying them will be a problem, talk to Inland Revenue before then,” Pettit says. “You could also look at using a tax pooling company to delay tax payments.”